SMART Notebook Activity Builder – How To

The Activity Builder is a new feature in SMARTNotebook

The Activity Builder allows the creation of interactive activities that respond to student choices. It essentially allows an object to be accepted as a correct answer and rejected as an incorrect answer all on the same page. It’s all in how the object is set up. I want to show you how to set up the Activity Builder in your own lessons.

Activity Builder – A Great Idea… A bit unstable!

I have used it in my Notebook lessons several times already and it has potential to be really cool! The problem I’ve found is that it is not yet stable. For example, I created interactive items in the Turkey Solfege, but when I closed it and reopened it, some of the settings seemed to have changed.

Plan “B”

So I went back and restructured the “Turkey Solfege” with SOUNDS and students touch the correct answer and hear a response as correct or incorrect. It works.

Plan “A” Take Two!

SMART Support thinks my original file was somehow corrupted so I recreated it with the Activity Builder and here it is…. again…… Turkey Solfege with Activity Builder Features !

I don’t know if it will come across to you with the Activity Builder features intact, but it’s worth a try.

It Has Potential!

The Activity Builder is a very cool feature and I don’t want to abandon it. Rather, I’d like to teach you how to build your own activities and at the same time, repair activities along the way. It’s a very simple interactive feature that will only get better as SMART works out the kinks. I think it’s worth the effort.

SMART Notebook Activity Builder – How To Video

I’ve created a short tutorial for creating interactive objects using the Activity Builder. Take 3 minutes for personal enrichment and learn a new trick…. Watch the video! I’d rather teach you how to fish than fish for you!!

I just noticed today as I was using the 18 SMARTBoard Musical Adventures and Assessments that a few of the Activity Builder pages were not quite correctly. What to do? Fix ‘EM! And keep going! When it works, it’s terrific!!

Struggles lead to growth!

I’m sorry that everything doesn’t work perfectly all the time…… I think we learn the most during the struggles to figure things out!

Go fish!

Update: October 25, 2013 – This updated “Turkey Solfege” file has working Activity Builder links and affirmative comments linked to the correct answer. All should be working properly. It is now available for purchase in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

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Cherie Herring

Music/Technology Integration at Hammond School

I teach elementary music, am passionate about integrating technology into my teaching, am obsessed with my SMARTBoard and iPad, and enjoy creating lessons and sharing ideas. I love technology almost as much as I love cheesecake, and with more energy and ideas than I know what to do with, I can't wait for the sun to come up each morning! I'm wife to Prince Charming and mom to three incredible girls who keep me balanced. . . sort of!